His vodka is farm to table

We visited Souza Farms near Atwater and listened to David Souza for nearly two hours.

He is a fourth-generation sweet potato farmer, full-time self-taught distiller and the first to make sweet potato vodka. He is passionate about his vodka, Corbin Cash. With absolutely no distilling background, he tracked down a book on the internet and built a still by buying some parts and welding two small beer kegs together. This innovative, hard-working farmer spent every day for a year and a half cooking and distilling. He discovered that blending different varieties of sweet potatoes created vodka with a smooth, pleasant profile. He also found out that it takes more than 10 pounds of potatoes to create just one bottle of spirits.

Today, the potatoes are hand-selected, mashed, fermented and distilled through an alembic copper pot still. After harvest, Souza plants rye to replenish the soil and from that he makes a rye whiskey and an American blended whiskey. Well water is used in the production and recycled back to the farm for irrigation and the spent mash is used for fertilizer or cattle feed.

The Corbin Cash business is sustainable. Cheers to the Souza Family! To find out more about Corbin Cash Spirits, go to www.sweetpotatospirits.com/ourfarm.

Winey Sips

Congratulations to E&J Winery! Impact Databank reported that Barefoot sold more than 18 million cases in 2015. Wow, that’s a lot of bare feet out there. Barefoot is making growth in sparkling wines like Bubbly Brut Cuvee, Bubbly Pink Moscato, Prosecco and the Barefoot Refresh. Barefoot is a consistently well-made wine at a very fair price. Cheers!

According to Shanken News, CBS Los Angeles has filed a class-action lawsuit against BevMo that alleges they use “bait and switch” signage tactics. If the shelf-talker says the 2012 vintage won a gold medal, it better be the 2012 on the shelf. Yes, there is a very small disclaimer on the card, but you should always make sure to check the vintage.

On June 12, eight wineries on River Road in Monterey will each have a band, a food truck and great wines. $45 gets you a souvenir glass, a $10 food credit and access to each venue. What a great idea. Go to www.riverroadwinetrail.com. It sounds like a party!

What’s on our table this week is the 2013 Clayhouse Malbec from Paso Robles (SRP $14).

This wine could be my favorite barbecue wine of the summer. Buy plenty, yum. Cheers!

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 11:07 AM with the headline "His vodka is farm to table."